News

A final day to remember saw three races with Mistral winds and Sardinia at its best

Porto Cervo, May 18, 2025. The final day of the RC44 Porto Cervo Cup seemed specifically designed to bid farewell in the best possible way to the competitive RC44 One-Design fleet helmed by owners assisted by crews manned by some of the most renowned sailors in the world. Mistral wind between 14 and 18 knots allowed three splendid races to be held in the uniquely beautiful Costa Smeralda setting near Capo Ferro with the island of Caprera in the background.  

At the time of leaving the dock, Team Nika and Artemis Racing were separated by just one point and looked to be the most likely to win. And so it was: the two contenders marked and covered each other over the course of the day’s three races while also having to maneuver in the midst of a compact fleet where not one of the competitors was willing to give up even a meter. 

With two victories and a fourth place today, it was the Monegasque Team Nika that got the better of the Swedish team Artemis Racing (4-3-4). Third place and a well-deserved podium finish for the event’s debutant Gemera Racing (3-1-3) sailing with her young owner Markus Törnqvist at the helm and "Checco" Bruni as tactician. Also sailing with this new team were pro sailors such as Kyle Langford, Kinley Fowler, Neil Hunter and Nick Hutton most of whom did not have previous experience sailing RC44s.

In the first race of the day, the event’s ninth overall, Nika managed to cinch a win with an incredible comeback. At the start Artemis “closed the door” on the Committee Boat, forcing Nika to start from the back of the fleet. With a clever tack towards the right hand side of the course, the less favored side but with clean air, Nika arrived fourth at the windward mark, behind Aleph, Artemis and Gemera. At the leeward gate Gemera was in the lead, followed by Nika and Artemis who rounded the gate at the same time on opposite tacks. The choice of the left side favored Nika who thus took the lead, extending and winning with a good margin over Charisma, Gemera and Artemis.  

The wind built to 18 knots for the second race, but the water on the race course, located near the island of Caprera, remained flat allowing for some thrilling performance with the RC44s planing downwind at 15 knots and more. At the start it was Gemera who covered Nika, with Artemis starting at the centre of the line. Nika repeated the strategy used in the previous race, sailing in clean air on the right side of the race course even though the port side seemed the most advantageous. Gemera rounded the top mark in the lead, followed by Artemis, Team Aqua and Nika. Gemera won the race, followed by Team Aqua and Artemis, Nika finished fourth.

The final race of the event saw Nika start with a 3-point advantage over Artemis, but the Swedes were determined to attack. With the wind decreasing slightly to around 15 knots, the better side continued to be the left, where Team Aqua started and maintained the lead until the approach to the windward mark. Here the fleet arrived compact for an adrenaline-filled turning of the mark. Lanzarote Calero Sailing arrived from the right hand side of the course with right of way to cross in front of Team Aqua, Black Star and Nika. Artemis rounded eighth, but the boats were all grouped together in just a few meters. The Swedish team Artemis launched a recovery sailing freely in the centre of the course and arrived at the downwind gate in fourth place while Nika took the lead sailing fast and hard on the left side of the course. These positions remained unchanged to the end: Team Nika extended their lead on the last downwind leg and went on to win the RC44 Porto Cervo Cup with a textbook final gybe near the Committee Boat. In this final race, Charisma took second place and third was for Gemera.

During the Awards Ceremony in Piazza Azzurra, Nika’s owner Vladimir Prosikhin thanked the YCCS and the RC44 Class for organizing the Porto Cervo event and congratulated the other teams. “The competitive level of this class is very high, many other teams could have been on the top step of the podium in our place, any of our teams can win an event, many have done so before and this is inspiring for us. To be able to win, the stars need to be aligned and that’s not easy. It was a fantastic event, thank you all” he said. 

Markus Törnqvist from Gemera commented: “I think it's a great place to make our debut. Fantastic team, fantastic weather, fantastic sailing conditions. Checco Bruni is a very good tactician and we’ll do great things in the future together. How could we ask for more? It is obviously great to make our debut and be on the podium."

The upcoming appointments on the YCCS calendar are Vela & Golf that will be held from May 23 to 25 followed by the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta from May 27 to 31.  

The RC44 Porto Cervo Cup was organised by the YCCS in collaboration with the RC44 Class and the support of YCCS technical partner North Sails. 

For further information, results, entry list, official documents, programme and photos please visit the YCCS website.